


Flash before your Eyes

by xxsatinangelxx



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-08
Updated: 2015-11-08
Packaged: 2018-04-30 13:51:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5166149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xxsatinangelxx/pseuds/xxsatinangelxx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Caitlin gets hurt and Barry arrives at the hospital to find her life hanging in the balance and an unlistened to voicemail on his phone from her. It's only at the moment he came so close to losing her can he finally voice what he's felt about her from the moment they met.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Flash before your Eyes

Caitlyn was the kind of women he could see himself falling in love with. She knew all of his secrets – minus the one about his feelings for her. She was beautiful. She was smart… smart enough to keep up with him. A rarity in the world around him if he did say so himself. But most importantly she wasn’t Iris or even Felicity. Oliver would have his head if he ever told him this but there were moments he imagined what life would be like with Felicity, the smart brainy kids they’d have, to the way she’d look in her wedding dress. 

All those thoughts were at the time, a way to help him through his justification for letting Felicity go, because she was a catch and despite her being head over heels in love with Oliver Queen he still couldn’t help but imagine life with her. Now however, looking back upon those thoughts he realised they were nothing like the ones he saw when he thought of Cait as his future wife. The smile she’d give him as he walked through the door, the way she’d scream at him for being reckless again. 

As you can imagine those thoughts were only just that. Thoughts. They were never spoken of nor were they ever imagined by anyone else, he presumed. If that wasn’t enough reason to be hesitant with telling her, there was the Fiancée who is in fact alive and saved his life. Something he was very bittersweet about, not that he’d tell anyone that either. 

This all changed. That fateful day that she was attacked by a meta-human. One with the ability to turn itself into Ice and freeze anything in it’s path. She’d ended up in the hospital and Barry was the last to arrive because he’d been working a case at the lab when he got the call from Cisco, leaving Jo, Eddie and Iris all calling after him in concern but he didn’t care. He needed to know she was okay. 

He arrived at the hospital mere moments later to find Dr Wells sitting in his wheelchair head in his hands, while Cisco paced the floor beside him. 

“What’s going on? What happened?” Cisco’s expression told Barry a thousand things he didn’t want to hear. 

“How bad?” He asked and Dr Wells spoke calm and collected as always. 

“She’s in surgery. She was stabbed several times with Ice picks, she has freeze burns over 40% of her body and she had a knock to the head. We’ll know more once they get her back in recovery” 

It was only at the moment of having nothing to do but wait, did he check his phone. He saw despite all the missed calls from Eddie, Jo and Iris from him rushing off a few minutes ago, he had 2 missed calls from Cait and a voicemail. 

He opened the message with a pang in his heart he’d only felt once before in his life. 

“Barry…” She sounded weak. She sounded like she was about to die and it knocked so much wind out of him, he found the nearest seat and sat down. Cisco and Dr Wells watching him with a pained eye. 

“I’m sorry. I never meant to leave like this. I want to tell you so much before I die. But one thing… one thing you have to know” She cut off and he heard a sob coming softly over the phone, the sound was so heartbreaking Barry shed a tear. 

“You have to know I love you Barry. I know it doesn’t make much sense and I know you’ll blame yourself for this, which I don’t want you to do. This is not your fault Barry. It’s your fault I love you, you stupid passionate, heroic…” She cut off and Barry couldn’t decide whether to laugh or cry. 

“But it’s not your fault I’m dy—“ The messaged ended with the normal automated voice telling him the caller had ran out of time and Barry leaned back in his chair tears silently streaming. Neither Cisco and Dr. Wells having the heart to ask him what he had just heard. 

It’d been an agonising 3 hours before the Doctor came out and asked for those here for Dr Snow. 

“How is she?” Barry asked with little manners as he rushed to find the answer.

“She’s not out of the woods yet, but she’s doing much better. The stab wounds didn’t hit anything major, luckily. The head trauma is minimal, but we’ll know more when she’s awake. For now you’re welcome to go and see her. One at a time though and only one of you can stay with her”

Dr Wells went first, he kept it short as both Cisco and Barry suspected he would. But he looked happier knowing she was still breathing but Barry could sense a livid anger bubbling up in Doctors eyes and for once Barry was inclined to agree with such negative emotions. Cisco went next, he was in there for a while and when he came out, Barry could have sworn he saw tears streaming. 

“Stay with her Barry” Dr Wells asked before he left with Cisco. “Make sure no one tries to hurt her again. While we find out who did this” Barry nodded, determination filling his lungs as he walked into the room. 

When her eyes met his so many emotions rushed through him. Relief that she was okay. Anger at himself for not being to help her and not being able to prevent the pain she was obviously feeling but overall the thing he felt, was love.

“Hi” She called in a small weak voice. He moved across the room as humanly possible and pulled her into a gentle but firm hug. Now he was closer he could see all the burns, all the ways her body was damaged. 

“Hi” He whispered back, placing his hand on her cheek sweetly, checking her over and over again. 

“I’m okay you know. You can stop looking at me like I’m one brick from caving” Barry chuckled, delighted to see she still had her humour. 

“Sorry” He said with a smile at first, but then he remembers her message and sobered up 

“Sorry” He said again, this time however he wasn’t sure if it was for hers or his benefit. 

“I knew you’d blame yourself Bar, You had no way of knowing what was going to happen to me okay?” He nodded and he left his tears fall as his head fell into her lap for a long moment, allowing himself this moment to accept what had happened, just how close he had come to losing her and how relieved he was that he hadn’t.

He was about to move his head from her lap, when she did something unexpected. She moved her hand and slowly started stroking his hair, it was innocent enough and yet he knew just how much it meant to both of them. One of the things he loved about her, she never failed to surprise him and not just with how smart she was when it came to missions, but more importantly her kind heart and her generosity. 

He lifted his head up slowly and met her eye, she looked in his eyes as if searching for an answer, searching for a clue of some kind. Barry suspected it was to see if he’d heard the voicemail and if he was trying to let her down easy. He smiled softly at her, reaching up to move her hair from her face. 

“You’re the most beautiful women I’ve ever known” He could see how his words knocked her back, as if it was the last thing she was expecting him to say. 

“What in a hospital Gown and 4 hours of surgery? I’m a mess” Barry frowned at her lack of confidence in her beauty. If only she could see what he sees every day of the week. 

“A beautiful mess” Caitlyn’s laughter filled the room and the noise seemed to heal some of Barry’s heartbreak. 

“I called you… before I passed out” Barry nodded softly at her, trying not to rush anything because he knew how much pain she must be in, even with the Morphine pumping into her system. 

“I know, I got the voicemail” Caitlyn’s whole body seemed to register that fact. Her whole body fell into alarm and it pained him to see her so worried. Despite that however Barry found it so amazing that he meant that much to her, that she was that scared to be rejected by him. 

“Wow Cait, calm down, you’ll up doing more damage than good” She took a couple deep breaths and settled herself back onto her hospital bed, a kind of defeat lasing her every movement. Barry pulled out his phone as he spoke to Caitlyn 

“There’s something I want you to hear. I recorded these messages in case something ever happens to me. The insurance that these messages would be heard is what gets me through the tough cases we work” He hit play on his recorder and held her eye as she listened. 

“Caitlyn” The recorded spoke in Barry’s voice. 

“I want you to know how much you mean to me. As a friend, as a colleague. You’re the most beautiful, gentle, generous person I’ve ever met and having you in my life has a been a gift, a true pleasure. If you’re hearing this, I’m dead. I know you’re probably crying right now and I’ll be looking over you with a broken heart knowing I caused you that pain. But in some ways I’m relieved, relieved that I don’t have to keep this from you anymore. There's been something plaguing me for months and I can't deny it anymore. I love you. No seriously… I. Love. You. As more than a friend. Know that I would have never come between you and what makes you happy, so please go out there save the world and find someone who makes you happy Caitlyn because it’s the only way I’ll get through”

The recording ended and a silence fell between them as Barry put away his phone. 

Barry seemed to almost hold his breath as Caitlyn starred at the wall opposite her bed. The silence seemed endless to him. But when a smile finally creeped onto her face he knew. Her hands reached for him and he eagerly moved into the embrace of her arms. Seating himself on the edge of her bed, letting her hands cup his face gently.

"You make me happy" She muttered and smiled brightly at her and allowed her the moment she needed to look him over. 

“God you’re so handsome” She wasn’t talking to him, she was talking to herself and he found himself chuckling at her words. She blushed bright red and it was the first sign of true colour in her face since before the incident. His right hand moved to cover the hand that was holding his face, gently moving her hand so he could kiss each knuckle gently  
before moving to kiss her forehead, then her cheeks and finally her lips. 

The kiss was perfect. It said everything he needed to in that moment. Protection , kindness, love and so much more. They only pulled apart from air became too great a need. Their foreheads fell together with a soft tap and a smile that seemed to lighten up the whole room on both their faces. 

“I love you” She whispered against his skin and he felt a shiver go down his spine at the words. 

“I love you too” She grinned at him. After a long moment of drinking her in his discomfort at the way his body was twisted became too much to bare so Barry moved into the bed and allowed her the space to cuddle close her him. She layed there barely in one piece and yet none of that matter as she listened to the man’s heartbeat beneath her ear. 

Barry absentmindedly started playing with her hair, he didn’t know when she fell asleep but he vowed from this day on to protect her from everything that could possibly hurt her again, but he vowed to love her for the rest of his life. 

Forget Felicity. Forget Iris. Caitlyn was his one and only. He knows that now.


End file.
